They've known it about animals for some time: less growth hormone promotes longevity.
Now a study, published Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine, shows that a similar process may apply in humans.
Endocrinologist Dr. Jaime Guevara-Aguirre of the Institute of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Reproduction in Quito, Ecuador, and USC professor Valter Longo led a team that studied a group of extended relatives living in the Andes in Ecuador, many of whom share a genetic mutation that shuts off receptors to human growth hormone, which helps regulate metabolism throughout the body, as well as the way that cells change as they age.
